I slipped into the woods off the clearly marked trail. I assumed there would be traps laid along it for the unwary, and it was also possible that a couple of men might have been left behind in ambush.

  I felt strange. I took a deep breath as I entered the woods and a multitude of smells came to me. And with them came memories...

  YOU HAVE GAINED A NEW ABILITY- WOODS CRAFT!

  YOU HAVE GAINED A NEW ABILITY- HUNTING!

  By not pursuing immediately I hoped I hadn’t doomed Cassana to sacrifice to some benighted evil god. I hoped that anyone left behind as an ambusher would have grown lax and would think of rejoining the rest of the bandits by now. I was sure that their loyalties barely extended past their purses and the ones left behind stood an excellent chance of missing out on any spoils from the raid.

  Moving as quietly as I could through the woods I swung a wide arc around where I believed the trap would be laid and then made my way back towards the trail.

  I found my supposition was correct. Ahead of me two men with bows were in a heated discussion.

  “I says that we should go back if’n we don’t want to get cut out of the spoils.”

  “The boss says to wait here until that guy with the bow comes through. Soon as he does we catch him in between us.”

  “He ain’t comin’. That one is no fool.”

  “He’s a damned hero. They is all fools. He’ll come traipsing after her sure as night follows day.”

  “Well she is a looker even if she is a half-breed.”

  I looked carefully to make sure there was no third ambusher waiting, perhaps these two were a trap.

  My caution was again rewarded. Looking away from the two who were arguing I could see a third man, a heavy crossbow in hand, scanning the trail and along the sides for any sign of pursuit.

  Knowing there was one I waited carefully until a movement to my left revealed another man with a heavy crossbow waiting on the side of the trail closest to me. So, there were actually four of them. I was preparing to strike when I felt a gentle tingling on the back of my neck that told me I hadn’t seen everything.

  Then I remembered the look on the bowman’s face when he saw me. I knew what was missing. He would not leave behind a chance to kill me.

  I continued to wait. About a half hour passed with no movement and the two men in the middle of the trail continuing on with their inane argument.

  Then I saw a slight movement in the trees above me. Clever! While he had placed the others in ambush at ground level, he had climbed a tree to get a better vantage point as I made my way down the trail. However, I was now behind him.

  I held my position for another fifteen minutes while I made sure I knew where the man in the trees was located. I considered my options. I could leave them all behind and continue on. It meant I had a better chance to reach Cassana before anything happened to her, but it also meant five bowmen between me and a return trip.

  I did not know how much longer the men would wait. Perhaps this was a regular ambush spot and they might have relief coming. I had no idea how many bandits I now faced.

  But five fewer would be a good start. Then I realized another problem. If I killed the man in the trees, he would return as I had. He would have time to warn the others and they would wait for me.

  Sundown was approaching. A gentle wind stirred the branches. Through them I could see the arch in the trees as he waited above me.

  An idea struck but it would require precise aim and a bit of luck. Using the covering of the wind I backed further away from my ambushers and positioned myself so that my first shot would be the man in the tree. I placed myself against a tree so that I could not be seen by the crossbow man across the trail. He would have to move, locate me and then try to fire. The two men on the trail would have very long shots. My recurve bow should have a better range and I knew it would have better accuracy.

  I mentally numbered my targets and then with a slowly drawn breath I rose drew back and waited. The wind parted the trees with a whoosh and I saw my target. Branches moved back to cover it. I waited. They moved again. I confirmed my target. I waited. A heavier gust came and, adjusting for the wind, I released my first arrow.

  The arrow whistled through the air the sound of the leaves covering its flight. The branches parted…

  And the arrow slammed into the wrist of the archer in the tree and pinned his wrist to the trunk he had been leaning against. He screamed in pain and dropped his bow which fell through the branches and landed in the brush far below.

  You have hit an opponent! Precision shot! 18 points of damage!

  I drew another arrow quickly blessing the quiver that made no sound to give me away. Four heads turned to the man above them trying to see what happened.

  My second arrow caught the crossbowman closest to me in the throat as he tried to look up. He fell to his side clutching at his neck trying to scream but unable to.

  Your arrow hit a bandit! - Critical Hit! - 28 points of damage!

  You have killed a bandit! - 25 experience points

  The two on the trail stood back to back looking around wildly, their bows whipping around searching for a target.

  I pulled back the third arrow as far as I could and released. It was a cruel shot, striking one man just below the sternum, passing through his diaphragm out his back just below the last rib and into the kidney and stomach of the man behind him.

  “You hit a bandit - 14 points of damage!

  “You hit a bandit - 8 points of damage!

  The man facing me looked down at the arrow, feathers embedded in body then directly up into my face. He opened his mouth to yell but the next arrow caught him in the head piercing his skull. He fell back bending the arrow that pierced him and the man he was pinned to falling on him and driving them both to the ground. I heard the second man grunt.

  You have killed a bandit! - 25 Experience points!

  Your arrow does an additional 4 points of bleeding damage!

  Then my luck ran out.

  A crossbow bolt slammed into my hip cracking bone and driving me off my feet. I fell into the brush. The second crossbowman had circled me and fired from the trail slightly below and behind me. If he had aimed a bit higher I would have died, but shooting uphill is deceptive.

  “You have been stuck by a bandit crossbow bolt - 12 points of damage.”

  The man in the trees above me called out.

  “You got him! He’s down but not out. Keep circling!”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  For a moment I considered simply shooting him to shut him up, but if I did, he would just resurrect and I would have to deal with him again later.

  “Not worth it.” I thought.

  I reached down and pulled out the bolt. The wound was bleeding badly but more importantly I could not run until I healed.

  I reached into my pack and pulled out some of my healing salve smearing it on the wound to close it. There was the usual smell of burning flesh and the blood flow stopped.

  A bolt whistled by me and stuck in the brush about seven feet away.

  “Too far to the left,” came the voice from above.

  “Your arrow does an additional 4 points of bleeding damage!”

  “You have killed a bandit! - 25 experience points!

  So, the second bandit I had pinned had died. A small comfort.

  I needed a distraction. A second bolt zipped by. This time the angle was different, and it was closer. A lot closer.

  “Almost. Keep going. He isn’t moving.”

  My hip was far from wanting to move. Then an idea struck. I reached out for my inventory. And pulled out a bottle. It was a long throw from a lying down position. But, I only needed to distract the bowman in the trees enough that he couldn’t see me move. That would give me a chance.

  I threw the bottle with all my strength and then rolled onto my good hip and over onto my stomach.

  The bottle sailed into the trees where it exploded into a wash of orange gas. The gas began to eat away at everything it touched. I heard the bowman cursing as the wind caught the gas and blew it in his direction.

  A bolt slammed into the ground where I had been lying when I made the throw. The crossbowman was good. He had seen my arm and guessed where I was lying.

  “Did I get him?” He called out.

  “I can’t see with this blasted gas!”

  I had the position of the crossbow man from his words. But I knew he would begin moving immediately after speaking. I mentally figured how much effort I would be making to stay quiet as I continued to circle looking for an opening. I knew there was higher ground, and a rock covering above and behind me. I just needed to…

  A crossbow bolt hit my leg. I almost sat up but forced myself to remain still.

  “You have been stuck by a bandit crossbow bolt - 8 points of damage.”

  Not good. The bolt drove into my leg, through and into the ground. I couldn’t move without giving away my exact position. The leg would soon start bleeding and I couldn’t reach it without sitting up.

  “Did you get him?” said the man in the tree.

  There was no answer.

  I immediately knew what was coming. He wasn’t answering because he was preparing to rush forward firing as soon as he saw me. He guessed I would be on my stomach and my bow would take too long to aim and fire.

  I forced myself to roll just as I heard a thrashing in the brush ahead of me. My leg twisted as the bolt resisted but I ignored it. The arrow came out of the quiver at my side and nocked in a single smooth motion. The bow came up from under me and as I swung it sideways it pushed at a broken branch just to my left. The brush to my left moved and a crossbow bolt slammed into it. I drew and fired blindly at the approaching sound.

  I heard a grunt. The shadow figure of the crossbowman appeared above me outlined in the fading light. I couldn’t see his face.

  YOU HAVE GAINED A NEW SKILL - QUICK SHOT!

  He coughed. It was a deep and hacking sound.

  “Damned heroes,” he said. Then he fell in a heap beside me. The arrow had caught him rushing in a low crouch and driven between his armor shoulder padding and neck straight into his lungs and heart.

  Your arrow hit a bandit! - Critical Hit! - 36 points of damage!

  You have killed a bandit! - 25 experience points! You have gained a level!

  I slowly sat up and reached into my inventory. I downed a major healing potion and then lay back for a moment to let it work. Overhead I could hear the bowman I had pinned to the tree. He was struggling to pull his hand free of the arrow pinning his wrist to the tree.

  It was then that the full effect of the orange gas I had thrown finally took effect. All around me the tree limbs suddenly began to sag toward the ground as if they were made of soft rubber.

  I heard another scream as the bowman’s wrist pulled free of the arrow as he fell off the branch he had been standing on and plunged 15 feet to the ground. I heard a solid thump as he hit. I prayed he didn’t die from the fall.

  Your opponent has fallen from the tree. 4 points bleeding damage - 15 points falling damage. Your opponent is unconscious.

  I reached down and pulled the bolt from my leg and followed it up swiftly with another healing potion. I had to reach him before he died of blood loss while unconscious.

  I managed to reach him while he was still breathing. I quickly tied his arms and legs and then applied some of my salve to his wrist. I had the satisfaction of him screaming into consciousness as the salve burned his wrist. I pushed the salve down into the wound to ensure it did its job.

  The pain brought him around and he struggled against the ropes for a few minutes. Then as the pain eased, he ceased his struggles.

  “I haven’t much time for you,” I said.

  He cursed at me and looked around for support.

  “They are all dead.”

  “So, kill me then. What are you waiting for?”

  I smiled.

  “If I kill you, then you will just come back and warn the rest. I have something different in mind.”

  “You’re right. I’ll resurrect and then I’ll come hunting you. It will be my pleasure to put an arrow through you.”

  “No, actually you won’t.”

  His smile turned up in pure arrogance. “You can’t stop me. One way or another I will hunt you down.”

  “That you can do. But, putting an arrow into me? That I have already prevented.”

  His face took on a quizzical look.

  “What do you mean?”

  It was my turn to smile.

  “The salve I put on your wound. It works by fusing the body pieces together. I used it once to fuse a severed arm back to my body to speed healing.”

  His eyes grew wide.

  “I used it on your wrist. And on the bones of your wrist as well.”

  “Bastard!”

  My smile remained.

  “No matter how many times you die and come back, that wrist will never work the same as it did before. Healing spells will only return it to this point. No further.”

  He shook his head in denial.

  “Your hand is permanently crippled. You need to find a new occupation.”

  I stood while he thrashed in his bonds. As I walked away I added.

  “I think I wouldn’t try pickpocket.”